Iron, Stars, and Business: What Makes This Family a Family…Eventually
by lazybum89
Summary: What could Tony Stark and David Sheppard possibly have in common? Why is John so reluctant to come back to Earth? One-Shot for now.
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Stargate Atlantis and the Avengers belong to their respective owners of which I am not. Though seriously don't we all wish we own something on here? Yeah that's what I thought.

A/N: Yeah so essentially the timeline/canon has been _*poof*_ wiped from existence in this story though the story does follow canon to an extent for SGA as it takes place during parts of season 1 and could be interpreted as late season 2 or early season 3...For the Avengers all the movies have happened prior to and including the very first Avengers movie but nothing after that.

Also, this is a one-shot for now. I probably will come back to it at a later date, but this has been on my computer for years and I want to share with you guys.

Beta: LogicIsBoring44

* * *

"You've got a call from Sheppard Industries, sir," said the secretary.

"Who is it and what about?" asked Tony as he walked into his office that he visited occasionally. He knew who was calling, there was only one person who called him from Sheppard Industries.

"It's a David Sheppard and he said it's about something you both have in common, sir," said the secretary, looking at the pad in her hand.

Tony waved his hand carelessly and said, "Go ahead and put him through and I'll take it in here."

"Yes sir," said the secretary.

"Thanks, darling," said Tony and he ignored how the woman blushed as she left his office. It worked every time.

His phone started to ring and he picked it up after three rings – he was in no hurry to talk to the person after all.

"What do you want, Davy," said Tony into the phone with a grin.

"Don't call me that," came the sigh down the line and after a moment of silence on both ends he continued, "When's the last time you heard from him?"

Tony frowned slightly and said, "I'm not his keeper. Why are you asking?"

"Because he came to see me and our dad a few days ago and told me that he was going away on a new assignment," started Dave.

Tony's frown deepened as he remember his own visit but he didn't let it show in his words as he said, "You mean his stepfather."

"Now's not the time for semantics, Tony," snapped Dave.

"It's always the time for semantics," said Tony, mockingly.

Dave kept silent, knowing how much it would irritate Tony, who after a couple of minutes blew out an annoyed breath and admitted, "He came to see me too. He wanted to make up."

Dave was silent for a moment before he said, "Yeah, he wanted to make up with us as well."

There is something Dave wasn't telling him, Tony could hear it in his voice. He tightened his hold subconsciously on the phone. "David, what's happened?"

There was a heavy silence – Tony never calls Dave by his proper name – before Dave answered, "My father and I were visited by an Air Force representative."

Tony cut him off even as his stomach dropped out. "Stop stalling and just tell me."

"John's base lost contact a day ago and right now he and his entire unit are considered MIA," Dave answered bluntly.

Tony's brain, for perhaps the first time in a long time, stuttered but didn't stop, already trying to come up with a solutions.

"Where's he stationed?" Tony demanded.

"Didn't he tell you?" asked Dave, almost with a taunt in a voice. The two of them couldn't help it when it came to John. They always seemed to be in competition to see who could be the best big brother to him. Ultimately, though, they seemed to have failed.

"I said he came by wanting to make up. I didn't say we actually talked or made up," retorted Tony, and wasn't that a big kick in the teeth? The last time he saw his younger brother, he ignores him, and then a few short weeks later he's declared MIA.

Dave was silent as he digested what Tony had said before he let out a sigh. "Yes, I'm afraid that was the case with us as well."

Something finally clicked. "That bastard!"

"Excuse me?" asked Dave, and Tony could visualize the frown that had just appeared on the other man's face.

"Our brother!" said Tony, like that explained everything.

Dave's eyebrow quirked slightly at the too true insult. "What about him?"

"He knew! He knew he was going somewhere where it was likely he was going to get cut off from everyone and he –" Tony cut himself off.

"He tried to mend the fences in case it was a one-way trip he didn't come back from," finished Dave for him with a sigh. John seemed to cause him to do that a lot with actions that were just so John-like.

There was silence for several minutes on either end of the phone, neither of them worrying about a phone bill knowing it was on company time, and even if it wasn't they could both afford it.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "He wasn't the one who had to apologize, you know."

"What?" asked Dave, not sure where Tony was going with his statement or where his sudden confession was coming from or why he would say it to him. They didn't have the best relationship to begin with.

"Try to keep up. You have some smarts in you. John. He wasn't the one who had to apologize to me. I was – I was drunk," Tony admitted, "and John was being John and I said something – something that I knew would hurt him and chase him away. We hadn't spoken in years, let alone seen each other, until about four or five weeks ago, and I didn't even listen to him."

Dave was silent as he listened to Tony's confession and it was eerily similar to John's visit to see him and their dad about five weeks ago as well.

"What happened when he came to see you?" asked Tony.

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"Major, don't you have a message you want to send to anyone? I'm just about ready to add the messages and I didn't see one in there from you," said McKay as he and Teyla walked to where Sheppard was standing on a balcony looking at the ocean.

Sheppard shook his head. "There's no one on Earth who will miss me if I die."

"Do you not have family on Earth, Major?" asked Teyla, looking at her team leader and friend curiously as McKay stared at him, understanding on some level being estranged from family and wondering if it was a good idea to send his message to his sister after all.

Instead of answering, Sheppard just shrugged his shoulder and continued to watch the ocean. Sensing he would talk when he was ready, Teyla and McKay let him be for a moment as they stood in silence, looking out across the water.

"Where's Ford?" asked Sheppard, not looking away from the ocean.

"He went to get something to eat and then to make sure everyone who wanted to send a message had a chance to record one," answered McKay, trying not to think of all the things he had yet to do in preparation for the Wraith invasion.

Sheppard nodded his head before he asked the both of them, "What does it say about a person when two families can't even love them?"

"What?" McKay asked distractedly. He was rudely interrupted from his mental to-do list and could not even begin to properly anticipate the flow of the coming conversation; however, he had the terrible impression that it was about to do with _feelings_.

"I do not understand, Major," replied Teyla, a little lost.

Sheppard sighed and said, "My family is…complicated, I suppose the word would be."

"Everyone's family is complicated, Major," retorted McKay, crossing his arms. His time was being wasted. He had important preparation to make. He couldn't stand here yapping about _feelings_.

Teyla placed a hand on McKay's arm, gave him a look and said to Sheppard, "What is complicated in your family, Major?"

"Did you know my birth was an accident? It wasn't supposed to happen," admitted Sheppard without answering Teyla's question, though in an indirect way, McKay and Teyla supposed he did.

McKay opened his mouth to respond but Teyla gave him another warning look that he interpreted to be sensitive.

"How do you mean, Major?"

Teyla did not think Major Sheppard even realized he was talking to her and Doctor McKay. He still had yet to look away from the ocean.

"My parents were looking to…spice up their relationship, if you know what I mean," he explained and he finally turned to look at them, disproving Teyla's previous thought. She and McKay nodded their understanding.

Even though the Athosians themselves did not do any 'spicing' in their relationships, Teyla had spent enough time around the people of Earth to understand the meaning.

"Anyway, they got involved with another couple – it was only supposed to be just a one-time deal thing or whatever, and it was. Supposedly, my parents were fine in every department of life, their marriage, professionally, and they didn't fight any more than was normal for a married couple – for a total of nine months," said Sheppard.

"Until you were born?" asked McKay.

"Until I was born," confirmed Sheppard, "looking nothing like my father."

There was silence as both McKay and Teyla processed what Sheppard said.

"What did your parents do?" asked McKay, curiously.

"They passed it off as me looking like some distant relative, took me home, and contacted the other couple," explained Sheppard.

"They gave you to the other couple? Even your mother?" Teyla asked, shocked. If they did that, no wonder John had not made a personal video to his loved ones.

"Not quite." John gave a wry grin. "See this other couple had just had a baby about two weeks before and they weren't quite looking for another baby to raise."

"So what happened?" asked McKay, sounding angry.

"They came to an arrangement. My father – stepfather – whatever you would like to call him, was well off but he still wanted the other couple to help raise me, and so they did. I would go visit my real father – birth father, if you like – every couple of months after I started to walk and talk. It was an okay arrangement and it worked well for us. I got along with both sets of parents and both older half-brothers –"

"You're the baby of your family?" asked McKay suddenly.

"Yes?" Sheppard answered slowly, unsure what McKay was getting at.

"Huh. That explains a lot," said McKay and made a 'go on' gesture.

Sheppard looked confused for a second but he continued with his story. "As I said, I got along with both sets of parents and both of my half-brothers. At least, I did until both my fathers started pushing me."

"Pushing you?" asked Teyla, sounding somewhat confused.

"Placing unreasonable demands on me about what I wanted to do with my future," explained John further and Teyla nodded her head in understanding. "Both of my fathers were CEOs of their companies, they were chief executive officers, the highest-ranking person in their companies who make leader-type decisions," he explained further for Teyla's benefit, "and they each wanted me to work for them before eventually taking over their companies."

McKay made a noise that Sheppard wasn't in the right mindset to interpret as Teyla asked, "They were trying to divide your loyalty?"

Sheppard shook his head. "I'm not sure what started it. They were friends when I was younger, but eventually I think it turned into a competition about who I loved more – I would obviously work for and take over the company of the man I loved more as a father – and I wanted no part of it."

"Understandable," said Teyla, and McKay nodded his agreement.

"You're the only ones. Not even my brothers truly understood. It was like there was a competition between all of us," said Sheppard with a sad shake of his head.

Silence fell between the three of them before Sheppard continued.

"You would have thought though that the _competition_ ," Sheppard said the word like it was a curse, "would have ended the moment when my real father died along with his wife when I was twenty."

"But it did not," stated Teyla, knowing it was not a question.

He shook his head. "No. Unfortunately, my dad – stepfather – he still continued to push me even though by that time I had already made my decision to join the Air Force, I was just waiting to finish school. My dad apparently thought my brother, Tony, would continue where his father left off."

"Did he?" asked McKay, re-crossing his arms. If Sheppard's brother – this Tony – did, he would do something. He didn't know what or how – Wraith attack pending as it is – but he would do something.

"No. Tony – he was too wrapped up in his own grief about his parents, and then his own life, he didn't care."

There was something in Sheppard's voice that made them sure there was more to the story but they weren't going to push right now. Sheppard already told them more then he had all year.

"I eventually became estranged from Tony and Dave, my other half-brother, and my father – my mom having died when I was younger – when I joined the Air Force. I didn't talk to them for years, but it didn't stop them from giving me advice when they heard about what I was doing through the grapevine. I never tried to contact them, though, not until right before we left to go on the Atlantis mission." Sheppard shook his head and continued, "I wanted to make up, you know, in case we died. They didn't even want to hear it."

"Then the fault does not lie with you," said Teyla firmly, while McKay nodded his agreement somewhat uncomfortably.

Sheppard frowned. "How can you be sure? You've only heard one side," he pointed out.

"Because I know you," said Teyla simply. "They are the ones missing out on an amazing man, Major."

There was silence at that while Sheppard was uncomfortable with the praise, and McKay with the way the conversation went. Teyla turned her attention out towards the ocean, not at all uncomfortable.

The semi-uncomfortable silence was broken a few minutes later by McKay.

"Major, who was you real father?" asked McKay before he hurriedly added, "I mean, if I can ask. You don't have to tell me."

Sheppard grinned a little at that feeling a little bit back to normal, before he said, "Shut up, McKay."

McKay shut up.

"I don't mind telling you both, but please, don't tell anyone else. The only one on the base who knows is Elizabeth and that's because it's in my file."

McKay nodded his head while making a 'go on' gesture and Teyla inclined her head. She would keep his secret.

Sheppard was silent a while before saying, "My birth father's name was Howard Stark."

"WHAT!?" shouted McKay.

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"Tony?" said Pepper Potts coming into Tony's lab. He has been working on something secret ever since Afghanistan, and she's unsure if she should be worried about it or not.

Tony stopped what he was doing but he didn't answer her. She knew he was listening, however.

"You have a call from Sheppard Industry –" she was cut off.

"Take a message," said Tony and he went back to work, ignoring anything else that Pepper might have said.

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Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard eyed Ronon Dex slowly as they circled each other in the gym.

" _Colonel Sheppard, would you come to my office, please?_ " came Doctor Weir's voice over the radio and it was in that split second that Ronon used it as a distraction to send Sheppard crashing to the floor before the other man even knew what had hit him.

He groaned into his headset and said, "I'm on my way."

"You should never let your guard down," said Ronon with a grin as he helped Sheppard up off the floor.

"Right," said Sheppard sarcastically. "Weir needs me." Ronon nodded his head once, and the pair of them grabbed their things and headed out of the gym.

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"Colonel Sheppard, please, sit," said Weir looking up from the report she was reading when Sheppard knocked.

Sheppard walked in, sat down in the chair and asked jokingly, "Am I in trouble?"

"Should you be?" asked Weir with a raised eyebrow.

"It was McKay," said Sheppard at once.

Weir's eyebrow went up even higher as she looked at Sheppard with suspicion as well as concern.

"What?"

"Never mind," Sheppard said very quickly.

Weir narrowed her eyes and said, "We'll get back to that, Colonel, but for now I wanted to show you something. There's a situation on Earth and the SGC think we'll be able to help. Specifically you." She handed the file she was reading over to him.

"If there was a situation on Earth, wouldn't the SGC be able to handle it by themselves?" asked Sheppard as he took the file and opened it.

"They felt you would be better suited for it, given your history," said Weir, compassion in her voice, as Sheppard froze minutely while reading the report.

"An alien attack in New York, and the SGC had no warning before it happened?" Sheppard asked, incredulously.

"Apparently, the SGC never had contact with the planet the aliens came from or the planet the one leading the attack was from, but get this – there was a warning," said Weir.

"There was? To who?"

"To the agency known as SHIELD."

"Really," said Sheppard putting the file back on Weir's desk. He had heard of SHIELD, and likely, so had Elizabeth. "And SHIELD didn't think they should put a stop to the attack before it happened?"

"They were unable to stop it but they were able to prevent it from being much worse than what it was," replied Elizabeth.

"Yes, with the so called team of superheroes, the Avengers. Elizabeth, I don't know how I'm going to be much help here. I don't know what happens on Earth since I'm not, you know, on Earth," said Sheppard, gesturing vaguely to Atlantis in general.

Weir frowned at him and said, "As you read, the Avengers are made up of several individuals which include an alien named Thor from the planet Asgard – though not in any way associated with the Thor the SGC and General O'Neill are familiar with.

"There is also Natasha Romanoff, who goes by the code name of Black Widow; Clint Barton, code name Hawkeye; and Bruce Banner with a code name of Hulk – apparently there was an incident in Harlem prior to his involvement in the Avengers, but no more information was provided.

"There is also Steve Rogers, also known by the name of Captain America, and finally Anthony 'Tony' Stark also known as Iron Man, as his identity is not secret."

Weir watched Sheppard for a reaction, but Sheppard stubbornly remained blanked faced and silent.

Repressing a sigh, Weir continued. "The SGC and IOA have decided to make contact with the director of SHIELD, a one Nicholas Fury, and the Avengers to inform them of the Stargate, and hopefully avoid future invasions of this sort again.

"So, John, are you still confused as to why you are wanted to be a part of the team that goes to make contact with the director of SHIELD and the Avengers?" finished Weir.

Finally showing a reaction, Sheppard crossed his arms, and asked, "Isn't there some kind of conflict of interest? Me being family – estranged though we are – and everything to one of the Avengers?"

"Apparently not," said Weir.

Sheppard let out a resigned sigh. "When do I leave for Earth?"

"Tomorrow morning, and the _Daedalus_ is already on its back to the Milky Way, so you don't have to wait long to come back," replied Weir, trying to sound optimistic.

"Just three weeks in hyperspace," Sheppard said dryly.

"At least this time, we know the ship isn't infected by a Wraith virus," said Weir with a grin.

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Bruce frowned as he read the message on his tablet again.

"What's wrong? Your results not turn out as expected?" Tony asked.

"No, my results are still pending," replied Bruce, still frowning.

"What is it then?" asked Tony, moving closer to his science bro.

"SHIELD requested a meeting in two days for all the remaining Avengers –" started Bruce.

"About what? We sent Point Break and Reindeer Games back. What else do they want?" asked Tony in annoyance, now looking over Bruce's shoulder at his message.

"It doesn't say," said Bruce, worriedly.

Tony noticed, and clapped Bruce on the shoulder. "I'm sure they just want to take our statements again. It's nothing to worry about. I think your results are done."

Bruce turned his attention to the results of his experiment, though he was still slightly distracted by the message.

When Bruce was satisfactorily distracted, Tony said, "JARVIS?"

"Already working on it, sir," JARVIS said.

"Let me know what you find."

"Of course, sir."

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Sheppard stood a safe distance away from the 'gate, waiting for it to activate when he heard McKay's voice.

"Honestly, Americans! Arming and shooting a nuclear weapon at a major city! And these are the people we are going to go meet?" demanded McKay as he walked up to the gate platform with Teyla and Ronon.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Sheppard as the 'gate started the activation sequence.

"We are here to accompany you to the meeting," said Teyla.

"Heard you could use some support," Ronon said with a shrug.

"Elizabeth already approved it. Besides, who knows what kind of trouble you could get into without us to watch your back," McKay replied with a completely serious face.

"I don't get into trouble," Sheppard shot back absentmindedly while looking at Weir, who was standing by the technician putting in the 'gate address. She inclined her head at him.

"Ha! Do you need a list of all the trouble you already got into and the potential trouble you could get into?" asked McKay.

He didn't wait for a response as he started rattling off his list of all the trouble Sheppard could get into by just breathing.

"Thank you," said Sheppard, his throat suddenly and uncomfortably dry, to Teyla and Ronon. Teyla inclined her head once while Ronon just raised an eyebrow.

"Number fifteen, you could get shot just by going into a restaurant to get food – because we all know you can't cook. How you would get shot in the restaurant would be simple to because, obviously, there would be someone idiotic enough to try to rob the place and you, Mister-I-think-I'm-bulletproof, would try to stop the gunman," McKay ranted.

"Are you finished?" asked Sheppard as the 'gate activated.

"I'm not even close to being finished," McKay retorted as they started to walk towards the 'gate.

"Really?" asked Ronon with a raised eyebrow in McKay's direction.

McKay stopped short. "Well, I – I could be finished – just for now mind you. I've been waiting years to tell you this, Sheppard!"

"Oh, I can tell," Sheppard replied with a grin as he stepped through the 'gate.


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: See previous.

A/N: See previous.

* * *

Four of the six Avengers, along with Fury and Maria Hill, were sitting in a conference room in the Triskelion, waiting for the fifth, and last Avenger left on Earth, at the moment, to arrive.

Fury was just getting ready to call Stark, again, when the billionaire walked into the room.

"Have we finished yet?"

If the room wasn't full of people who were already used to him – even if some hadn't known him long – and spies, there would have been eye rolls exchanged.

"Sit down and shut up, Stark," said Fury.

"Pushy," said Tony, as he pulled out a seat beside Bruce with a nod in Bruce's direction.

"Late," countered Fury. "As it is, our guests had already been forewarned about your tendency to be late."

"Guests?" questioned Captain America.

"Forewarned? Am I that predictable?" asked Tony right over the Captain.

"Yes," answered a different voice completely.

No one jumped – though it was a near thing in both Bruce and Tony's case – as everyone turned to see who had spoken.

There were two men standing in the doorway; an Air Force officer, a major general by the looks of it, and a civilian. There were also several people standing in the hallway.

Bruce tensed in his sit.

"Nicholas Fury?" asked the general, who was the one who had spoken, not giving anyone a chance to speak.

"Who's asking?"

"General Jack O'Neill. Two L's."

He held up three fingers.

Maria Hill raised an eyebrow while Clint and Tony barely held in a snort of laughter. Bruce smiled tightly while Natasha watched everyone; Steve didn't understand if a joke was being made or not.

Fury didn't react and instead looked at the man standing beside him.

"Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"I was told there would be more than two in this meeting?"

"Meeting about what?" cut in Tony.

"An information exchange," answered Dr. Jackson as O'Neill didn't look like he wanted to answer Fury's question.

"In exchange for what?" asked Tony, eyebrows furrowed.

Bruce tensed even more.

"The protection of the planet. We can't have any more nukes aimed at New York. Danny was furious," O'Neill answered, almost careless, as if he, himself, didn't care that New York was almost destroyed.

"Danny" let out a sigh, "Jack."

"Daniel."

Funny. It was almost as if it was reflexive just like the silent word exchange that happened seconds later.

"Sheppard!" O'Neill called out.

"Sir," came a new voice that caused Tony to tense in his seat immediately and whip his head toward the door and everyone else to focus either on the door or Tony.

A new man, also dressed in Air Force blues, though his pins denoted he was lieutenant colonel, walked in the room surrounding by four other people, three civilians and another Air Force lieutenant colonel.

"Johnny?" asked Tony, sounding shocked to see him, looking unsure whether he should stand or not. How dare Johnny spring this on him!

"Tony," said Sheppard with a nod, though he was eyeing the light in his chest suspiciously.

"So this is him?" asked the man bedside Sheppard, crossing his arms.

"You know him, Stark?" asked Fury.

"McKay," said Sheppard, the warning clear in his voice.

"You mean you don't know, Nick. I thought you knew everything about my life. I gotta say, I'm shocked," said Tony grabbing his chest, though it was partially to cover the Arc Reactor from John's inspection.

"Oh, now I'm torn between liking him and hating him," said O'Neill to Sheppard.

"Stark!" said Fury.

"He has that effect on people, sir," was the reply.

"That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me this week, Johnny," said Tony, ignoring Fury. "JARVIS make a note."

"Of course, sir," came a dry British voice from above them, causing Fury to let out a curse.

Not a single person jumped, however, at the voice.

"Oh now I'm intrigued. Everyone asks about JARVIS the first time he's introduced and, Johnny's never met him, so why did none of you jump at the disembodied voice?" stated Tony.

No one said anything until Dr. Jackson said, "I'll do the introductions, shall I?" And not waiting for an agreement he started.

"Some of you may already know, Lt. Col. John Sheppard. Beside him are Dr. Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex, and Teyla Emmagan." He pointed each of them out. "Finally, beside me is Lt. Col. Samantha Carter."

"I'm assuming you know everyone here as your people contacted me directly?" asked Fury.

"We do," replied O'Neill, not even trying to lie.

"Have a seat," said Fury, nodding at the remaining seats.

Everyone standing took a seat, and then Dr. Jackson started before anyone could ask any questions.

"Before we begin, everyone present has to sign non-disclosures agreements, and Mr. Stark, you'll have to turn off your AI's monitoring in this room," explained Dr. Jackson as he went into the bag he was carrying.

The Avengers present plus Maria Hill and Fury immediately became suspicious.

"Why?" asked Clint.

"Have you even heard of an organization with the initials SGC?" asked Carter.

"JARVIS?" asked Tony.

"No results, sir," came the answer.

Fury's face was blank while everyone else was confused, even Natasha and Clint.

"I've heard whispers," Fury admitted. "Nothing concrete."

"For good reason. The general population wasn't ready to know what we did, but thanks to recent events, that's most likely to change," said Dr. Jackson as he stood up and started to hand out the NDAs.

"I don't like to be handed things," said Tony as he backed slightly away from the packet, and Dr. Jackson's outstretched hand, when Dr. Jackson got to him.

Dr. Jackson didn't pause as he set the packet on the table in front of him before moving on to the next person.

Tony picked it up from the table and said, "Do I need my lawyers, Johnny?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes slightly at him and said, while avoiding eye contact, "It's a standard NDA, and essentially lets you know, in legal terms, what happens if you break the agreement, including the fact that you'll be found guilty of treason."

"Oh, nice."

Sheppard made a sound that could be taken for agreement.

"Do you need help, Mr. Rogers?" asked Dr. Jackson, a bit too loud.

"Danny, that awkward conversation was killing all of us, but don't draw attention to the kid that was frozen for a century; he has his own problems," O'Neill said.

The tips of Sheppard's ears went slightly red as he leaned slightly back in his seat and started to stare at the ceiling while Tony focused on pretending to read his NDA.

"Oh my God, was that an awkward, jilted lover conversation?" asked Clint, looking up from his NDA. "You've went through the male population too? How did we not know this?" He directed the last sentence to Natasha.

Tony and Sheppard both looked at him with identical horrified expressions on their faces while O'Neill snorted and even Jackson and Carter cracked a small smile. McKay, Teyla, and Ronon, however, had strangely blank expressions on their faces, though it looked like it was difficult for McKay.

"I'll take that as a no," said Natasha, though she sounded amused at their reactions.

"Can we focus?" asked Steve, having taken Sheppard at his word and signed the NDA.

No one answered him, but there was the sound of ruffling papers as they turned back to reading their NDAs.

After Dr. Jackson collected all the NDA's, O'Neill turned to Tony.

"Yes?"

"JARVIS, was it? Turn him off," O'Neill ordered. It was the first order any of the Avengers plus Maria Hill and Fury had heard him give.

Tony was silent for a moment before he pulled out his phone, pushed some buttons, set his phone on the table, and said, "He's no longer monitoring this room."

"Carter?" asked O'Neill.

Carter pulled out device, checked it, and said, "It doesn't appear like there are monitoring devices, sir."

"McKay," stated O'Neill.

"How come you ask Sam, but you demand of me?" questioned McKay as he fiddled with a device before leaving it on the table.

"Because she doesn't back talk me? How do you put up with the constant back talk?" O'Neill questioned Sheppard.

"Mostly by threatening him with lemons, sir," replied Sheppard with a grin.

"Ah. Do you have any handy?"

"Fresh out, sir."

"You're all comedians," replied McKay with a huff.

Tony was watching the byplay closely, and he wasn't the only one.

"Any time now, General," demand Fury.

O'Neill grinned slightly and said, "I don't do the explanations."

Steve frowned, and he wasn't the only one, but before anything could be said, O'Neill continued.

"Daniel."

Dr. Jackson, who had sat down at some point, leaned forward in his seat. "Let me tell you about the Stargate."

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"You mean to tell me that the Air Force and Marine Corps have been traveling to other planets for several years already, with the main mission of finding technology to protect this planet, and you didn't see fit to share that information with SHIELD?" questioned Fury.

"Yep," answered O'Neill.

"And you do it through a giant ring with a water puddle?" asked Fury.

"Yep," answered O'Neill.

"That's an over simplification –" started Carter before she was cut off by O'Neill.

"Carter?"

"Yes sir?"

"Science later."

"Yes sir."

"Were just the Americans involved?" asked Natasha.

"At first, but then other countries became involved, including the British, Chinese, French, and Russians to name just a few," explained Daniel, who shot a look at O'Neill for his answer.

"You two are aliens?" asked Clint, looking at Ronon and Teyla.

Ronon nodded once and Teyla inclined her head and said, "Yes, though in our galaxy, you would be considered the aliens."

"Semantics," said McKay with a wave of his hand.

"Galaxies?" asked Steve, faintly.

Teyla inclined her head once again and said, "As far as I am aware, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Col. Sheppard, Dr. Rodney McKay, and their expedition are exploring our galaxy for much of the same reason as they explore their own."

"Not to mention the Ancient technology," O'Neill threw in. "No, Daniel. I need you here."

"But Jack," started Daniel, before he was cut off by Tony.

"You're the military leader on Atlantis?" asked Tony to Sheppard, and he made that sound like an accusation.

"Yes," answered Sheppard with slight nod, still not making eye contact.

"How did that happen?" questioned Tony.

Sheppard stiffened, finally looked Tony in the eyes, and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

An awkward silence fell before it was broken when Bruce cleared his throat and asked, "You also try to find allies as well, right, on your explorations? Not just technology?"

"Yes," answered Carter with a nod.

"So we have other alien allies besides Thor and Asgard, and the present company?" asked Bruce again.

"How do you know Stark, Sheppard?" asked Fury with a glare.

Sheppard didn't answer; he had had Wraith Queens try to force an answer out of him, a human didn't scare him.

"Stark?"

Tony didn't answer either, though probably more out of wanting to keep his privacy and sheer stubbornness than anything.

"Oh for crying out loud," said O'Neill, with a roll of his eye. "How they know each other isn't important, let's keep this ball of information exchange moving. I've got fishing to get back to."

They got back to exchanging information, and Tony and Sheppard didn't exchange anymore words or looks.

When they were ready for a break, Sheppard left the room as soon as military protocol and decorum allowed.

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O'Neill found Sheppard on the roof of the building after he left the rest of their group.

"For the record, sir, I was against me being here. I said it was a conflict of interest," explained Sheppard.

"I get it," said O'Neill. "Family's complicated."

They stood in silence for a few minutes before O'Neill clapped his hands together.

"Let's go see if we can go find your team and mine, and see if this cafeteria has pie before we have to go back into that room."

"Pie?"

"Next best thing to fishing."

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"How dare that –" McKay paused as if words failed him before he continued, "imply that Sheppard didn't deserve to be the Military Commander of Atlantis! Like Sheppard wasn't good enough." He ignored the food in front of him.

"You don't know that's what he meant, McKay," Daniel said, playing devil's advocate as he took a bite of his food.

"Meant or not, he had to know that's how Sheppard would take it after them not speaking for years," ranted McKay.

McKay continued to rant.

"Sometimes it is best to let Dr. McKay, what is the saying, 'get it out of his system'?" said Teyla.

"Sounds about right," said Sam as she took a bite of her blue Jell-O.

Ronon ignored them all and ate his chicken.

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"Where are you going, Stark? I've got questions," questioned Fury.

"Phone call. Can't wait," explained Tony and he walked into the hallway. He ignored the way his name was still be called, and called the person he needed to quiet shout at.

The call was answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Why didn't you tell me Johnny was back stateside?" demanded Tony.

"Tony?" questioned Dave.

"You know someone else who knows someone called Johnny who wasn't stateside?"

Dave ignored the question and said, "How are you? Aliens in New York? Flying the nuke into the portal?"

"I'm fine," said Tony waving his hand.

"Which means you're not fine. But wait, John's back in the states? And he came to see you?"

The jealousy was audible.

"Not by choice, I think."

"Tell me everything," demanded Dave.

This was not the way Tony planned for the conversation to go.


End file.
